Pikachanged
by Multiversity
Summary: Ash and friends meet a harassed young man with a very irate Pikachu. Trying to help the poor trainer leads them into a mess as they try to stop Team Rocket and save Sinnoh.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, Internet. SUMMER! Yes. Hopefully, I'll have time to write whatever I want.**

**Pokémon doesn't belong to me. No sue.**

**Share and Enjoy. Comment, please.**

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><p><em>Oh, this is just ducky. Lovely. One minute I'm minding my own business, next minute… well, how was I supposed to know he was from Team Rocket?<em>

_And now I'm in some Mew-forsaken forest. Really. Now what?_

_Agh, these ears. Twitching all around. Really gets on your nerves-wait. Sounds… smells… it smells… excited? How does _that_ make any sense? Probably just a fluke, or-_

"Wow! Never thought I'd see one of _you_! Go, Pokéball!"

…_Lovely. Huh. I've wondered what that feels-_

…

…

…

_*Click!*_

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><p>"Come on Ash, let me see the map."<p>

"Er… I don't think you want the map, Brock."

"What? Come, on, we're lost. I need the map so we can get to the next town."

"Yeah, I know what a map is for."

Pikachu sighed. _"Oh, boy…"_

"Just… give it!" Brock pulled the map out of Ash's hands. He stared at it for a second. "Ash?"

"Yeah, I know."

"This isn't a map of Sinnoh."

"Yeah."

"This is a map of the Orange Islands."

Pikachu sweatdropped.

"Dawn, you got the wrong map!" Ash shouted.

"It's not, _my_ fault! Someone had put it with the Sinnoh maps, and I couldn't see it all rolled up like that!"

Pikachu jumped to the ground. _"Well, this might take a while."_ He sat against a rock, next to Piplup. Piplup jerked awake.

"_Uh, er… Ah! What? What's happening?"_

"_We're lost."_

Piplup waved a flipper dismissively. _"Again?"_

The humans were arguing now. They had camped in a clearing, and now there were four different paths. There was only one signpost, and all the paint had worn off it.

"Look, it's simple," Dawn offered. "Ohmtown is a busy city, right? We'll just wait until someone else comes by and see if they know how to get there."

Ash and Brock shuddered. Pikachu rolled his eyes. Asking directions was annoying, but it beat wandering aimlessly.

"Hey, are you Ash Ketchum?"

The group turned around. A thin guy with brown hair was running towards them from the path by the sign.

"…Yes?"

The boy came to a stop in front of them and bent nearly double, wheezing. Ash sweatdropped. "You okay?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm…fine."

"How'd you know my name?" Pikachu pricked up his ears.

"Well, I just got my badge from Crasher Wake, and he said I was the second trainer he'd seen with such an 'unusual battle style,' he said. Then he said you used a Pikachu, too, and…" He took a breath. "Uh… Can we battle?"

Ash smiled. "I'm always up for a battle! What's your name?"

A look of horror came over his face. "Oh, where are my manners? A thousand pardons, sir, I hope I didn't offend!" He stuck out a hand and smiled nervously. "My name is Walter, and I'm from Veilstone City. How do you do?"

Ash shook the offered hand. "So, you use a Pikachu too, huh? Pikachu! Come say hi!"

Pikachu jumped and ran over. "Pi pikachu!"

Walter grinned. "Wow! The sheen on that coat!" His smile faded. "Mine doesn't look nearly so healthy."

Brock frowned. "How so?"

"Well… let me show you."

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><p>"This will be a one-on-one battle. The winner will be decided when one side is unable to battle," Brock recited. They had cleared a space and taken their places (with Brock judging, natch).<p>

"You ready Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"_Let's go!"_ he said, getting in position.

Walter pulled an Ultra Ball from his belt and glanced at it worriedly before throwing it. "Thunder, up an' at 'em!"

There was the usual white light, and then there was the most dour-looking Pikachu Ash had ever seen.

It wasn't ugly, or anything like that. It just looked… severe. It stood up unnaturally straight on its hind legs, arms folded behind its back, and it had it its ears flat behind it, looking rather like someone with their hair slicked back. And the expression on its face gave the impression that everything it saw was a personal insult. It was an expression that looked absolutely ridiculous on a Pikachu, but Ash felt, in an uncharacteristic flash of self-preservation, that pointing this out would result in quite a lot of pain.

Thunder glared at Pikachu (Ash's) and scowled.

"Are you ready to go, Thunder?"

Thunder ignored him.

Ash shook himself. "Pikachu, start it off with Quick Attack!"

"_Right!"_ Pikachu leaped forward, moving so fast that he was a blur. Thunder observed him with a bemused look on his face.

"Thunder! Dodge it!"

Thunder rolled his eyes and stood still. Then, just as Pikachu reached him, he stepped smartly aside. Pikachu ran right past him, then felt a tug on his tail.

Thunder had grabbed Pikachu's tail as he ran past, then used Pikachu's momentum to throw the mouse Pokémon into a rock.

"Pika!" Pikachu gasped.

Dawn gaped. The move had only taken half a second, and she wasn't sure what had happened.

Thunder raised an eyebrow as Pikachu stood up shakily, rubbing his head.

"_Painful?"_

Pikachu shot a look at him. _"What do _you_ think?"_

"I_ think you should be concerned that I did that without even using a move."_

"Pikachu! Are you okay?"

"Pika!"

Walter frowned worriedly. "Thunder! Use…use Thunderbolt!"

Thunder turned and scowled at his trainer. Walter flinched. _"And just _how _am I supposed to do that?"_

"_You can't use Thunderbolt?"_ Pikachu asked, incredulous.

"_Who told you that? Not me. I just don't know _how_. Moron."_

Pikachu growled.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"

Pikachu's tail glowed and he swung. Thunder calmly ducked and weaved around the swings, not missing a beat. He even looked bored. He led Pikachu to a tree, causing his tail to get stuck in the trunk.

Pikachu struggled to pull free, while Thunder turned his attention elsewhere. He poked around and selected a long stick slightly taller than him and about the width of his arm. He weighed it, tested its strength, and, with a satisfied nod, swung it at Pikachu's head with a sharp _CRACK_.

There was a moment's silence. Then: "Ash's Pikachu is unable to battle! The winner is Walter!"

"_What did _he_ do?"_ Thunder muttered.

Ash ran over and picked up Pikachu. "Are you alright?"

"_Ash? Which one of you said that?"_ Pikachu said, slurring slightly.

Thunder dusted himself and dropped the now-broken stick. _"Well, that was boring. Ack!"_ This last part was said as he dodged the beam of red light as Walter tried to return him. _"No! Never again!"_

"C'mon, get in the ball," Walter said hopelessly.

Ash coughed. "He doesn't _have _to get in the ball, y'know. Pikachu hates his Pokéball, so I never keep him in it."

"Yes, well… Thunder can be a nit difficult."

"_Yeah, difficult. Idiot."_

Dawn remembered something. "Oh! I almost forgot. Walter?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you know the way to Ohmtown? We're a bit lost, and-"

"Ohmtown?"

Thunder got a pained look on his face. _"3, 2, 1..."_

"Believe it or not, I live in Ohmtown! Sure, I can get you there!"

Thunder face-palmed. _"Natch."_

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><p>Thunder refused to ride on Walter's shoulder, opting instead to walk. He managed to keep up despite the short legs, walking a ways in front of the others.<p>

"Your Pikachu doesn't seem to like you very much," Brock whispered.

"I noticed," Walter said miserably. "I don't think it's my fault, though. He doesn't like _anyone_, really. Well, he liked Bertha, when we met her, but he _really_ hated Wake." Walter frowned. "I don't know why."

Ash glanced at Pikachu. "Maybe you could find something out, right buddy?"

Pikachu smiled. _"I can try."_ He jumped down and run beside Thunder.

"_Hi there!"_

Thunder grunted.

"_You're a good battler! I can't imagine how strong you'd be if you could use Electric attacks…" _He trailed off.

Thunder sighed.

"_So, Thunder-"_

"_My name is Martin."_

"_Martin? Then why does Walter call you-"_

"_He doesn't know, of course. How would I tell him?"_

"_Oh. Well, where did he catch you?"_

"_I don't know. I was lost."_

"_Lost?"_

"_I had just escaped from a Team Rocket research facility."_

Pikachu jerked and looked at him. Thunder had not stopped looking ahead. He didn't sound like he was lying.

"_Team Rocket?"_

"_Oh, yes."_

Pikachu rubbed his neck. _"You didn't see a talking Meowth, did you?"_

There was a pause. Finally Thunder turned his head with a pained expression. _"What."_

"_Just this Team Rocket trio I keep running into."_

"_Ah. No, the two in charge here were new. Their first mission was to set up a headquarters in Sinnoh. Henry and Morgan. And the resident _'scientist,'_" _he said, pouring on the sarcasm, _"Dr. Kidd. They're experimenting with, oh, some sort of genetic whatevers."_

Pikachu tilted his head. _"How do you know all that?"_

"_Ha! Are you kidding? They wouldn't _shut up._ Seriously, I've never encountered hammier people in my life, and that_ includes_ Crasher Wake. Hate that guy."_

Something wasn't quite right. _"So why were you there?"_

"_Hmm?"_

"_Why were you at their base?"_

"_Oh, I ran into Morgan in the street, and she was rude. I was rude back, and she's got a hair-trigger temper."_ He laugh humorlessly. _"Ha! A word to the wise: don't insult the angry girl with access to all sorts of gene-splicing gizmos. I think I was lucky to get away with what I did."_

Pikachu frowned as his mind caught up. _"Wait. How'd you insult her? How'd she understand you?"_

"_Ah, that's the question, isn't it."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_You wanna know why I don't know how to use electricity?"_

"_Why?"_ Pikachu asked, thrown by the change in subject.

"_Because I'm not a Pikachu. I am…well, I _was_ human."_

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><p><strong>Hi, this is my fourth story. Seriously though. Comment.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**I have nothing to say here.**

**Pokémon isn't mine, so back off.**

**Share and Enjoy. Comment.**

"So, this is Ohmtown?"

"Yeah. What do you think?"

"It's… nice."

Ohmtown was a dump. All the buildings were run down, and graffiti was everywhere.

"Do you really think so?" Walter asked. "Huh. _I_ always thought it was awful."

The group face-faulted.

Pikachu was watching Thunder…er, Martin from Ash's shoulder. _"Hey. Were you serious?"_

"_About what?"_

"_Being human."_

Martin looked up at him. _"Do I _look_ like the kind of guy to joke about that, or anything?"_

Walter led them around a corner. "I'd show you my home, but I really don't have any room for you. I barely have room for me. The Pokémon Center always has a room or two, though."

And the Center was far better-looking than the rest of the town. There was only one layer of graffiti.

The doors slid open with a slight scrape. "Welcome!" Nurse Joy said, smiling. "May I help you?"

Walter shrugged. "Might as well, while I'm here. Thunder?"

Martin ignored him and wandered into a corner, where he started searching though a box.

Nurse Joy coughed. "Er… that's the Lost and Found. He can… keep anything he finds there."

Ash frowned. "What if the owners are looking for it?"

She waved vaguely. "Theft is property, in this town."

Pikachu ran to the box and poked it as Martin's head surfaced from the clothes. He was now wearing a black scarf and a derby. Again, it looked ridiculous, but there was still that look in his eye.

"_Nice hat?"_

Martin jumped out of the box. _"I think so."_ He pushed past Pikachu and was picked up by a Chansey. _"Miss, I suggest you unhand me before I start removing limbs."_

"_Aren't you cute?" _the Chansey said. Pikachu chuckled and followed.

"Has your Pikachu had a checkup recently?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Well, I only caught him a few days ago, so… no?"

"Well then, you won't mind if I give him his vaccines, will you?"

A look of horror crossed Walter's face. "Uh, I-I don't think he'd like that…"

"Great! It'll just take a second!"

"Er… wait!"

Nurse joy carried the two Pikachu into the other room and set them on a table. Pikachu started fidgeting, but Martin was the very picture of apathy.

"_How can you be so calm?" _Pikachu hissed.

"_Eh?"_

"_The _needles._"_

"_It's just a shot."_

Pikachu flinched. _"Don't say that word!"_

Martin chuckled darkly. _"Wimp."_

Chansey brought out two needles. Martin raised an eyebrow. _"Pardon me, Miss Chansey?"_

She paused in administering two thw struggling Pikachu.

"_Yes?"_

"_Hypothetically, would a flu shot or whatever this is be harmful for humans?"_

Chansey's brow furrowed. _"Huh?"_

"_Well, suppose one of us took the shot and then, I don't know, got transformed for some inexplicable reason, would there be any adverse effects?"_

Chansey stared at him. _"Why-"_

"_Just curious."_

"_Well… We just use a smaller dosage of the human vaccine, so…"_

"_Okay, that's all I needed."_ He smirked at Pikachu. _"See? I actually _had_ a good reason for it to scare me, but I didn't let it. Prepare for the worst and the worst never happens."_

Pikachu flattened his ears. _"Yeah, well-"_

"_All done!" _Chansey trilled. Pikachu looked at his arm incredulously.

"_What? I didn't feel a thing. Shut _up!_"_ he said.

"_I didn't say anything," _Martin said, smiling slightly. He grunted as Chansey gave him his shot, then hopped down to the floor. _"Now I need to make sure that idiot of a Trainer hasn't managed to lose my new clothes."_

"_It's only been five minutes…"_

"_Try spending three days in the woods with him. He'd lose his own head if it wasn't nailed on."_

Pikachu stopped and frowned. _"Nailed…"_

Martin was sitting on a bench. He seemed to be meditating. The others would throw him a glance every own and then, but they left him alone.

Waler had invited the group to a nice restaurant, and it had happened to be near a park. They were all having a picnic.

They were in the nice part of town. That is, the buildings weren't in various stages of disrepair and there was hardly any peeling paint _at all_. The park itself was actually quite nice. The group had let out their Pokémon to eat.

"Walter?"

"Yes Brock?"

"What moves does Thunder know?"

"…I don't think he knows any."

"Not even Tackle?" Ash asked.

Walter stared at him. "Is he serious?"

Brock nodded.

"What?" Ash said indignantly.

Pikachu glanced at Martin. He leaned over and tapped on Buizel's shoulder.

"_What?"_

"_Tell the others that I need to tell them something. You're not going to believe it, but…"_

"…_yes?"_

"_That Pikachu over there is actually a human."_

Buizel blinked. _"Pull the other one."_

"_No, really! He said he got experimented on by Team Rocket, and-"_

"_Those bozos?" _Buizel scoffed. _"They don't seem the type."_

"_Buizel, there's more to Team Rocket than Jessie and James."_

Buizel frowned. _"Since when?"_

Pikachu facepalmed.

"_Why aren't you eating, mister?"_

Martin opened his eyes to see Pachirisu standing next to him. _"Can I help you?"_

"_Pikachu says you used to be human…"_

"_Yes."_

"_He said you were transformed by members of Team Rocket and that you were trying to turn back but you didn't know how and you were angry because you got caught by a human Trainer and-"_

"_There's this wonderful thing called _breathing,_" _Martin said. _"You might want to give it a try."_

Pachirisu took a deep breath.

Martin sighed. _"I may want to keep a closer eye on the little rodent. He's far more observant than he lets on." _He smirked. _"I like that. Smart." _He turned tofocus on the squirrel Pokémon. _"Those goons turned me into a Pikachu, yes. They have my clothes, my bag, my Pokémon, and all my other stuff. I will make them pay."_

Pachirisu's eyes widened. _"They have your Pokémon? You must be so worried about-"_

Martin laughed. _"What? Worried? No, they can handle themselves, I made sure of that. No, I just want to kick those idiots' tails for turning me into this tiny rodent."_

Pachirisu glared at him, indignant. _"And what's wrong with being a rodent?"_

Martin scoffed. _"Well, I guess I can't complain. I mean, they were going to turn me into a Slugma before I convinced them that I'd be able to just melt through any cage they had."_

Pachirisu frowned. _"You could?"_

"_Oh, I don't know. Maybe. I was bluffing, mostly. Please leave now. I try to limit my self to 2,000 words a day, and I think I'm reaching my limit."_

"_But-"_

"_Begone with yoooou, foul demon." _Martin frowned, then shook his head.

Pachirisu jumped off the bench and ran to the other Pokémon.


End file.
